The Finch Family

Here are the stockings all hung by the fire.

One of Ben's favorite presents was the doughnut maker he received from his great grandparents. That boy really loves to help in the kitchen.

Lizzy's big gift this year was a guitar. I read a lot about it before I bought it. If it looks small, that's because it is. A half size guitar for a girl who is half the size of a grown up. We went with nylon strings instead of steel because I read it was easier on beginner's fingers (kind of pain to tune all the time though).

As many birthdays and Christmases go, Adam must have some BYU items. Train them up when they are young and they will not depart from it. Go Cougs!

Greg opted for a hand shot of his new scriptures. His others, which he used on his mission, were pretty beat up.

Anna got an awesome alarm clock with several noises, like crickets, rain, and waterfalls. It also has lights and an ipod dock. It wasn't something that see asked for, but I knew she would love it, and she did!

Here is Jacob with his brand new John Deere boots. Sadly these boots have not been as popular as the Buzz and Woody boots he wore out. These awesome boots have only been worn a few times. I guess he doesn't like the stiffness of them. I thought he would love them.

Here are the girls later enjoying practicing together. I wish I could get them to do that everyday! I love having our home filled with music.

We hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did. It was so fun to get away and do something different. It was also great to come home and spend even more time together. We are just in such a great time of our lives. Merry Christmas!

Day 6 in Las Vegas was spent doing a little of this and a little of that. Adam was quite sick again so he spent the whole day on the couch while the rest of us explored the town. In the morning we went to Ethel M's chocolate factory and cactus garden. It was then on to Lake Las Vegas to walk around a pseudo European village. Then the evening we spent on Fremont street. Greg had a conference in Las Vegas in November and had heard it was cool because the whole street is covered and every hour they have a lights and music show on the "ceiling". He wanted to check it out. It was probably the most "Las Vegas-y" thing we did.

Here is Lizzy, Ben, and Anna watching them make chocolate.

A cute shot of Liz in the cactus garden.

Anna and a cool peacock sculpture.

Here are Ben and Greg at Lake Las Vegas.

Strolling at Lake Las Vegas.

Anna and Jake posing at Lake Las Vegas

This is the ceiling on Fremont street during one of the light shows. It kept changing to flow with the music. It's pretty cool, but probably not as impressive as Greg hoped.

There are people all over the place dressed up waiting to take a picture with you (for a fee). When you are in Vegas, how can you resist a photo op with Elvis?

One of the funnest things we did was paid to have some artists do charicatures of Ben, Lizzy, and Anna (Jacob was pretty tired and grouchy). Here is the result. Sorry the pictures aren't great. It is a picture of a picture.

Ben

Lizzy and Anna

Our last day in Vegas was a short one. We just had the morning before catching our flight that afternoon. We had been hoping everyone would be well enough to visit Greg's grandma. Fortunately it worked out and we were able to see her that morning. It was the first time some of the kids had ever met her. It was fun to visit with her and have the kids play the piano for her. Here we are with Greg's Grandma Pace, his mom, and Jim (his mom's husband). Thanks to Greg's Aunt Kaylene for taking the pictures. If these weren't the only pics we had with Greg's grandma, I would probably burn them. I look larger than large. Maybe I will print them just so I can burn them. I think that could be satisfying.

After a quick lunch it was off to the airport and home to Iowa. Here are the kids at the airport on this cool turtle statue. Bye-bye Las Vegas. Thanks for the fun time! Thanks Cherrie and Jim for everything.

Day 4 in Las Vegas was Christmas Day! Unfortunately, during the night more of the family had gotten the very nasty stomach virus. Fever and all. Most of the kids were still excited so we all got up at 6 and headed down. Then everyone except Jacob and I went back to bed. Most everyone spent the day in bed. I did see Ben and Lizzy occasionally, but it was mostly just the two of us. Since Grandma and Grandpa were also not feeling well, Jake and I didn't even go to church. It was a very mellow Christmas.

Here are the kids heading down to check out the stockings and things.

Jacob very happy with the Scooby-Doo movie he found in his stocking. Too bad we left it at Grandma's when we went home! We only brought one present for each of the kids, and Grandma and Grandpa had a few things for them to open. You know what, I think I enjoyed it a lot more. Less is more, right? Mostly we were just happy to be together.

Lizzy reading the blurb on the back of the book in her stocking.

One of the times Liz and Ben came down, they were looking for something to do. Grandpa found a bag full of beads for them to play with. They used them to make these.

It was a pretty quiet Christmas day. It was nice for everyone to rest and try to get over the stomach bug. What a great day to think of the Savior.

Day 5 in Las Vegas was a fun one for me. One of my old college roommates, Carmen, lives across town in Henderson. We were able to go to lunch and catch up a little bit. Sadly, I did not bring my camera so I do not have a picture of the two of us.

While I was at lunch with Carmen, Greg took the little boys, Ben and Jacob to do their "special" thing. They got to go to the M&M store where they watched a short 4-D movie, got a picture with characters, and bought way too many expensive M&Ms. They are pretty easy to please and just enjoyed being with their dad and feeling special.

Here is Ben and Jake with Yellow M&M.

The day ended with a family dinner. Greg's mom remarried about 5 years ago (Greg's dad has passed away). Jim, her husband, has a lot of children who live in Las Vegas. We met them briefly at their wedding, but this gave us a chance to get to know some of them better. It was really enjoyable. All really great families. It was also good to see Jim interact with his kids and grandkids. It helped us get to know him better, too. We are really glad we got that chance.

Day 3 brings us to Christmas Eve! By this point in our trip we've had some rough nights with a nasty stomach virus, but everyone seems up to going to Hoover Dam so we get up and go. Nothing says, Christmas Eve, like Hoover Dam, right? There is also this amazing bridge overlooking the dam that we visited. It is so high!

Anna, Ben and Lizzy on the tour at Hoover dam. I think these were turbines. Huge, right?

We wanted to have each of the kids get to do something special while on vacation. Adam got to go to the football game. Lizzy and Anna and I got to go on the extended Hoover Dam tour. We got to walk down this narrow tunnel to one of the air vents. This is a shot from out of the vent. We are down lower in the dam.

This shot, I just stuck my hand and camera out of the vent. This is the view looking out from inside the dam.

The girls on the tour with me. There were a lot of areas we weren't allowed to go. It's crazy too, because there are offices and things inside the dam. It is not a huge, solid mass of cement. There is a lot inside it. It really is a marvel.

Here's the family from the Hoover Dam Visitor's center. You can see the bridge we will visit in the background.

Here is Grandma and Grandpa with most of the kids. I was tending to a not feeling well, melting down Jacob at this point. Greg was taking the picture.

Seriously, we always have to take a silly one. I think Adam is trying to throw Ben over.

Here is a pic of Adam from atop the dam. Pictures just cannot convey the immensity of the dam. It is so big and so amazing. It is so amazing to think it was completed without so much of the equipment we have today.

I just had to include this picture. If you look above Jacob's head you will notice he is standing in both Nevada and Arizona. All the kids really wanted their picture taken here, but as you can see, the sun is a bit much for Jacob. He is trying so hard to smile, but the light is just too bright.

Next, we were off to the bridge overlooking the dam. This view makes me think man vs. nature. I know it has really helped with providing water to southern California, but it also makes me a little bit sad.

All the kids with one foot in Nevada and one in Arizona, up on the bridge.

I know the lighting is terrible in this one, but I still like it.

Another shot of the dam from the bridge.

Our last stop before going home was to feed some crazy fish.

These are the fish. Feed me!

That's Jake and I out on the dock.

After all the fun we went home and rested a while. That evening we enjoyed a wonderful time reading and acting out the Christmas story. We also sang some songs and watched the new Bible videos put out by our Church. Here is a link if you are interested: http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos?lang=eng I really loved the Wise Man video. Each Christmas my heart is so full of love and gratitude for the Savior, and what his life means to me and my family. We are blessed to know of him and feel his love in our lives. It was very enjoyable to spend this time with Greg's mom, Cherrie, and her husband, Jim. What a great trip!

Day 2 in Las Vegas was spent at Red Rock Canyon hiking area. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Everyone really enjoyed it. The first stop there involved a lot of climbing (not the hooked up and tied in kind). I don't know what it is about kids and climbing, but they love it and it can be a little scary for a mom. Dads like to encourage that sort of thing, though, so Greg took the lead and led all the daredevils one way, while careful Anna and I and grandma all stuck together. It is true of anything found in nature, but pictures just don't do it justice (especially mine). It is so awe inspiring and amazing in real life. Very fun.